Letchworth said it took years of work by area comedians to rebuild a comedy scene from scratch in Northwest Arkansas and to bolster customer demand. Now the UARK Bowl is booking top name stand-up comics for regular shows and headlining events.

"It was always baffling to me that an area as large and growing like Northwest Arkansas had no comedy," Letchworth said.

The UARK Bowl hosts an open mic night on Thursdays that drew up to 200 customers at peak times in 2012, Letchworth said.

"That's 200 people showing up to see a local guy work on his stuff," he said.

On Fridays, the UARK Bowl features professional stand-up comics at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets generally cost $7, and the club offers drink specials and $2 beers.

Comedy headliner Ralphie May recently sold out a midweek show - 400 tickets at$20 each. May was raised in Clarksville and has credits that include making the finals in Last Comic Standing, a talent competition on cable television; The Tonight Show With Jay Leno; and four Comedy Central specials.

Letchworth said this is the UARK Bowl's second year featuring stand-up comedy. The first year the venue hosted comedy names such as Bobcat Goldthwait and Tom Green.

So far comedy has been a good draw for the venue, which also rents out space for weddings, parties and special events five days out of the week.

"There is a stand-up comedy scene now in Northwest Arkansas. We need to keep it alive," he said.

Los Angeles-based industry research firm IBIS World reports nightclub revenue of $1.9 billion and profits of $87.2 million in 2011. Because of the recession and its impact on consumer spending, annual growth in revenue between 2006 and 2010 was down an average of 1.9 percent, but the report predicted 2.6 percent average annual growth from 2011 to 2016. The figures track nightspots that serve alcohol and have entertainment components such as music or dancing.

The IBISWorld report indicated that clubs are expanding their rosters of entertainers and musicians. The research firm predicted that this revenue stream will continue to increase over the next five years.

Page 2 of 3 - In Fort Smith, adding comedy acts has been good for business at the Movie Lounge, said Jeff Price, beverage director and live-music coordinator for the venue.

Movie Lounge, which opened in April on Rogers Avenue, shows second-run, independent and classic films in two theaters and offers formal dining, a bar and stage, as well as event space, including a ballroom.

Attendance went from maybe 20 diners to between 70 to 130 on a good night. The act attracts a whole new crowd.

Naturally Improvable "upped their brand and diversified ours," Price said of the comedy group.

The same week he performed at the UARK Bowl, Ralphie May sold out Movie Lounge's 330 seats.

"It's snowballing for us," Price said. "Starting in April,we'll have a mid-level comedian every month, and once or twice a year we'll bring in a big-name headliner."

American stand-up comedy was established by Mark Twain and flourished in vaudeville and nightclubs for decades before the comedy club boom, said Stephen Rosenfield, director of the American Comedy Institute in New York.

He said the mix of comedy with other entertainment and dining offerings isn't really new.

"This is what nightclubs used to be like," he said.

Eric Yoder, booking agent for Michigan-based, Funny Business Agency Inc. credited the Fayetteville comedy scene for increasing the demand for comics in western Arkansas.

"Demand by local comedians got us involved in Northwest Arkansas," he said. "There was a void for regular, professional comedy. There hasn't been any in the area for a long time."

Yoder's agency books comedy acts for the UARK Bowl and Movie Lounge, and for clubs in southwest Missouri.

He said now there are enough clubs in the area to allow solid, professional comics to be booked for a week at a time, shuttling them around the region.

Yoder said that over the past few years comedy has been branching out in the Midwest and is no longer relegated to bars or specialized clubs.

"I'm seeing it in a lot more places," Yoder said.

Comedy is one of the primary draws at The Joint on Main Street in downtown North Little Rock.

Steve Farrell and his wife, Vicki, opened The Joint in June.

The Farrells came from Houston and have some serious comedy credentials.

They were part of the original troupe of The Comedy Workshop in Houston in the 1970s, and owned and operated several comedy venues, the last being the Radio Music Theatre before moving to Arkansas to open The Joint.

"We started in the comedy world during the heyday," he said.

Page 3 of 3 - The Joint isn't a traditional comedy club. It has a coffee shop and bar that features custom-roast coffees, craft beers on tap, wine, and a mix of food, snacks and desserts. Attached to the coffee shop and bar is a 105-seat cabaret style theater that features music offerings by regional bands and, of course, comedy.

On Wednesday, improv group Joint Venture will perform with a $5 cover, and on Friday and Saturday nights The Joint's resident comedy company, The Main Thing, which features the Farrells and others, performs. Tickets are $20.

Steve Farrell said The Joint, with its eclectic entertainment options, has done well. Revenue so far is well above what he projected.

"It's taken off faster than we thought," Farrell said.

He said he's seen the comedy scene go full circle, from the stand-up craze in the 1970s and 1980s, to the shift to sketch comedy, then to improvisation brought on by the popular Drew Carey show Who's Line Is It Anyway? and then back to stand-up once again.

Farrell credits big-name comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld for the public's interest in comedy. Seinfeld left standup for television and the immensely popular series that bears his name, but he has since returned to touring.